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A Maga-Letter Published for those who support and/or are interested in knowing the PROGRESS of ABUSED/ NEGLECTED and other children living at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch. Lisa Schoonover, Editor

RESULTS“Helping Victims Become Children Again”

Since 1977 ~ Spring 2016

Your

AA time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted. - Ecclesiastes 3:2

s Spring appears we delight in our children at Shiloh as transitions are made and new life is born. Our prayer is that we can shape and mold

these children to be planted in Christ.

SPRING ON THE FARM

Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch

601 N. Center, Box 606Shelbina, Missouri 63468Telephone 573-588-2191

Fax 573-588-7730 e-mail: [email protected]

Mark Adkison ...............Executive Director

Jay Craig .............. Director of Stewardship

Amy Bishop ........Director of Accounting & Finance

Tim Craig .................... Stewardship Officer

Angie Hays ......... Executive Admin. Assoc.

Matthew Harris .................Placement Rep.

Jim Thomas....................Promo Field Rep.Grandparent

Lisa Schoonover ........ Admin. Stewardship Associate

Caleb & Danielle Vandyke .................. JulyKevin & Denice Blew ............HomeparentsKen & Beth Penfield .............Homeparents

SCS Administrators

Kirk & Dennae Moore ..........Homeparents

Todd & Misty Kolars ............Homeparents

Randall & Mindy Sidwell ......Homeparents

Robert & Karen Tuley .................Relief HP

Jon & Joy Bethel .........................Relief HP

Greg Lowes .................................Counselor

Jessica David ..............................Counselor

Cindy Ayers ................................Counselor

Carol Brookhart ................ SCS Supervisor

Becky Colvin ................................ SCS Aide

Roy & Donna Fancher ..........Grandparents

Don Harris ............................ Grandparent

Board of Trustees

Jim VanSchyndel, Chairman...Mexico, MO

Dan Butcher, Vice-Chairman ...Burlington, IN

Bob Vickers, Treasurer ........ Shelbina, MO

Jim Schaefer, Secretary ............Callao, MO

Stan Moore ..........................Burlington, IN

Dr. Jim Tritz ................. Jefferson City, MO

Pete Million ................................Quincy, IL

Nathan Plumb ...................... St. Louis, MO

BLEW CREW

You helped Brittney get her braces about two years agoWe are grateful for your help in shaping her life over the past years

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” So begins

“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens.

It is also representative of the past few months in our home. There have been some grand strug-gles and uncertainties, but God doesn’t blink! He has never lost sight of us and we see his strength being made perfect in our frailties and frustrations.

That said, there have been some true delights and not just a few. So I will rejoice in those and share a few of these here to God’s Glory.

During Christmas break we welcomed 15-year-old Sabian into our home, which brought us up to 7 high schoolers and one 8th grad-er. He’s beginning to see that our Shiloh family is even bigger than just our house or this ministry. It includes the vast cloud of praying and giving witnesses like you.

In this magnificent family of donors, you helped Brittney get her braces about two years ago. Her Orthodontist, Dr. Lisa Rus-sell, was a delight to work with. On February 25, Dr. Lisa unveiled a beautiful new smile on our senior daughter. This busy young lady works part time as a nurse’s aide, runs track, keeps good grades and is heading off to college next fall. We are grateful for your help in shaping her life over the past years.

Speaking of beautiful smiles, I had the privilege and honor to ac-company granddaughters Morgan and Aubree to the Daddy Daughter

Date Night in Quincy. Dad Shane had to work, so I went in his place. I had so much fun.

Our son, Jeremiah, turned 17 last December and now has his driver’s license and a girlfriend we call “Mustang Sally”. She is a 1972 Mustang Fastback that was a project car belonging to a relative in Iowa. When he isn’t busy doing farm chores and checking on his cows, he heads over to the shop to tinker on various restoration needs.

Ashley Trudgeon, our intern, came for two months and it was ex-citing to watch how God is raising and leading her young life. Having her on board allowed Denice and I

Denice & Kevin Blew

“

– Continued on page 3 –

to leave in a very impromptu time frame when another tremendous anxiety turned into a huge blessing.

Our newest grandchild was born three months premature after Anna was flown to Phoenix from Flagstaff, AZ. Gideon James Miller entered this world after only 28 weeks 2 days gestation at a mere 2 pounds! He is now a month old and more than 3 pounds. He has been transferred to the Flagstaff area. For the next couple of weeks, we have Jude; 5 and Lydia; 3 with us after our sec-ond trip to Arizona in a month.

This would be a great time to tell you how marvelous Shiloh is to us as homeparents at times like this. The Tuleys, Moores, and Kolars, just like I mentioned with Ashley, are always readily available to fire us up to meet this need with Anna and Daniel’s family. Your prayers and support helped sustain us during those anxious moments. We could cast our cares on Jesus and he sent angels that looked just like our neighbors.

A favorite song of late is by Casting Crowns, Just Be Held. You can find it on YouTube Official Lyrics video. It encouraged me to just be still and listen. I was tempted and anxious and worried about the outcomes. It admonished me to quit trying so hard and just let God hold all that I was concerned about and who I was concerned about. Good advice! n

Cherish the Day,Kevin & Denice

Blessed with a mild winter and a very early growth of pasture, so we have a third of small square bales and half of big round bales left. Game plan with cattle down a little. We will work more on the bot-

tom side of things. We will cut fertilizer cost due to left over hay and early pasture growth. We have in-creased our herd to 20 cows with 19 calves from last year and 4 calves so far this year. Just really started calving here in April. We had 30 acres of wheat topped dressed early March and too early yet to plant 18 acres of beans. Our pastures look beautiful thanks to work groups that have helped trim brush, cut sprouts, and increase pasture. I keep preaching, “We are not just feeding hay for we are planting grass, spreading fertilizer, and stopping erosion. You should not be able in early May to tell where all you fed hay whether it ruts, equipment trails, or left over hay.” Jeremiah is catching on! n

– CLARENCE FARM REPORT –

Blew Crew • Continued from page 2FROM SHILOH CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Field trips are coming upOur second semester will go fast, I am afraid! Our

last quarter started off with a chance to see new life with our incubator and baby chicks. It never matters how old our students are…they always watch in antici-pation as each new crack in the eggs occur. Each year we have a great ratio hatch and survive, getting to join our other chickens. Katie, from the Missouri Exten-sion, came again and filled us with knowledge about eggs, new life, and chicks.

We appreciated the Sidwells and Bethels helping cover electives and school coverage while we were gone to Florida with our new grandbaby. Such a bless-ing to have extra hands on site to allow us the flexibil-ity to be gone!

With warmer weather, Mrs. Sidwell and Sue Thomson have been educating our students in green-house class and doing some projects we can also enjoy later this year. Our kids also look forward to spending time with the Bethels and the horses. It is such a joy to see Trenton who used to fear a lot of things get excited about riding or sharing facts he has learned.

We have several field trips coming up in our last couple of months…..field trip on the way to Missouri Christian Convention…..Heartland Dairy…and Nau-voo Old Settlement.

It’s been good to have new students as the Sidwell home has been getting new kids. Think the boys are starting to feel a little outnumbered though! n

In His service, Ken & Beth Penfield

Shiloh Christian School Administrators

Beth & Ken Penfield

PENFIELD PROGRESS

“Ashley & I are going on a mission trip”To the inner city of Springfield

While I know the calendar says it’s supposed to be springtime, it sure hasn’t felt like it lately.

Our poor daffodils and crocuses are so confused…just when they thought it was warm enough to poke out their green leaves, along came a cold front and made them regret it!

We spent much of the past month in anticipation of a new grandbaby (soon to be 3rd child of our middle daughter, Adrianne and husband). I think every time the phone rang for a month, all the kids would ask “A baby yet????” FINALLY in the middle of the night, just a few hours after her due date, Bethany Grace arrived. I question if she is going to have any cheeks left as her older brother and sister keep kissing her when they wake up, when they walk by her, when they leave the room…you name it! Think they are enjoying their new-est addition!

Martin, Trenton and Skye are anxious for warm weather for sure! One warmer day I think they spent 2-3 hours straight playing in the sand box (best work group project ever at our house!!!!). Think every digging toy and car they own ended up in their “imagination world” of sand. Bicycle rides become cops and robbers or race cars. While they do have their moments of fighting, when they are “on the same page” of playing, the con-versations and imaginations fly!

April looks to be a busy month…..the first weekend we enjoy taking our family to the Missouri Christian Convention, then visiting our home church who has been so supportive of Shiloh. We enjoy seeing some familiar faces and our kids enjoy getting to know our friends and family. (Plus they always have those ol’ favorite spots to stop at like Maidrite!)

The next weekend Courtney, Ashley and I will be going to serve on a mission’s trip with our high school youth group to Inner City Mission in Springfield, Missouri. We will be preparing meals as well as do-ing work projects around the apartment building and

grounds. Love teaching our kids to serve others! We always come back with plenty of stories and God mo-ments.

They have also been enjoying scrapbooking and creating their own scrapbook. We try to have doubles printed of pictures throughout the year for the kids to have special memories. Also trying to teach them composition and designing, which shape/color works best. They’ve been doing a great job and will have a nice book to take with them and talk about for years.

The following weekend we are planning a family trip to celebrate the first birthday of another grandchild. We love watching our kids interact with our grandkids. It’s funny how the grandkids always ask, “Where’s your kids?”, naming each one that may be missing from the room. Even the youngest grandkid counts them as family and we know the feeling is mutual.

As I finish up my time help-ing our daughter out with her new baby, I think often of our fellow homeparents, the Blews, who wel-comed their grandson, Gideon, into the world two months early …about the same time ours was to be born.

It has made me do a lot of thinking about how we think we know when things should happen (kind of like try-ing to force spring to arrive even though temperatures might harm the flowers if they bloom then). Must ad-mit we were pacing quite a bit while we were there with Adrianne but still no baby…..later we found out His timing was best and the doctor called her a miracle baby……again, His timing was best.

In the same way, changes in the children God brings our way will not always come in the timing we think they should…but in God’s timing we will wait….we will trust…we will praise Him for bringing new life into their seasons of life…. n

In His service, Ken & Beth Penfield Family

FROM ME TO YOU

“I already have a few job offers.” - Christy Curtis Thank you, every person who has helped me

Jay Craig

(In this issue, I defer my col-umn to a young lady who lived with us for many years. You’ll enjoy reading her testi-mony):

Wow, this is an honor and blessing that I get to be

part of this month’s newslet-ter. There are many things Shiloh has helped me with.

I have come a long way in the last 10 months. I am currently a trainee at Ottumwa Job Corps and I have gained great success. March 17th I passed my CMAA test - the hardest test I have ever had to take. The test had 130 questions. You have to have the desire to want to learn it. I already have a few job offers! I am just so excited to be living in Des Moines, IA when I am fin-ished with Job Corps. After living at Shiloh and before Job Corps I attended a community college in Ottum-wa. College was tough for me. I had trouble finding the right friends. Job Corps is a Miracle in Disguise; it was God’s doing.

Now to answer the question I was asked. Shiloh really helped me grow a true, everlasting relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ. Even when I traveled on to the wrong path, he never left me, I just decided that I wasn’t going to listen to him. Shiloh also helped me

learn the true meaning of love. Before coming to Shi-loh I was angry and disliked my parents for what they did. Now all I want for them is to find the Lord and to accept his amazing love. The last thing that Shiloh helped me with is to be prepared for disappointment and accept it.

Before I went to college, I had a chance to meet my birth mom. She wasn’t what I’d hoped she would be and that’s okay, because after meeting her I wasn’t upset, because I have two amazing families God has blessed me with. I have my Homeparents, Kirk and Dennae Moore, to thank for that. They prepared me for the day I would meet her. I am proud of the woman I am becoming, and that I am on the right path. My love for God has never been so strong, and my heart leaps for Joy thinking about his love for me. He is my Best Friend forever and I know I can go to him for any-thing. Every day, I try to be the best person I can be and to do what God is telling me.

I love Shiloh. I wouldn’t have said that two years ago, but I say it now. Thank you, every person that has helped shaped me into the women I am today. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me and what he is going to use me for. Thank you, Mom and Dad Moore, for the many teachings and for your never ending love for me.

Former Shiloh resident,Christy Curtis

Honor RollTri-County Christian School

Titus & Heaven – A Honor RollGrace – Regular Honor Roll

Shiloh Christian SchoolMartin – A Honor Roll • Courtney – B Honor Roll

South Shelby Middle SchoolMason

South Shelby High SchoolMercy – Principal’s Honor Roll

Regular Honor Roll – Makena, Jeremiah, Brittaney

Thank you for all you do for these youngsters who come into your care. God bless you all for your good work.

-DL

Thanks to your efforts in making the young lives you touch better. We’re so thankful for the sacrifices everyone makes to make Godly changes happen.

- In Christian Love, K & B

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MOORES’ MUSINGS

Mercy is a member of Key Club, FCCLA, and vice president of HOSA - an organization of future health professionalsShe is also finishing her CNA course at school and is looking for a summer job

Dennae & Kirk Moore

Spring is always a fun time on the farm. There is so much happening from new calves to the bulbs

we planted last fall coming up tulips and daffodils. Our family started last year getting a few new layer chickens to add to the hen house. The kids love rais-ing them, and it helps to keep egg production continu-ous. There are so many lessons learned from raising animals. There always seems to be one that becomes weak and dies. The lesson of death is learned easier with chickens it seems. We have had a small burial both years. There are lessons in responsibility with feeding, watering, and changing their bedding. Those who thought they were so cute tend to be the ones to lose interest the quickest. Titus and Josiah are my go to chicken kids, and they both have their eyes set on other animals possibly later this year. They are hard workers, and love to be out with Dad. Last weekend we had a group from Mizzou up to chop wood. They both went out, and worked hard with some pretty good blisters and scrapes to show for it. Heaven helped for the morning, but then came in to help with Luke. She is a great help with Luke, and loves to take him on walks or help get him ready for bed.

Grace is gearing up for summer ball, and loves be-ing able to go outside more. She is a big helper in the greenhouse, too. She loves to dig in the dirt. Ezra and Hunter love to be out on their bikes. Both boys learned to ride with no training wheels. So now all the kids are on big kid bikes. Titus, Josiah, Hunter, and Ezra do a million laps a day is seems on the dirt road (which is a new privilege). Of course it is more fun on days after it has rained. They go around seeing who can make the biggest rooster tail when they go through the puddles. It’s fun to watch the four boys grow up at this stage to-

gether. Grace likes to be in the mix with the boys a bit, but Heaven enjoys just staying in, taking her doll for a bike ride, or taking Luke on his push bike. She’s going to be such a great mom. Luke just gets in to everything and loves to find snacks.

Our older two girls are busy, busy, busy. Mercy has had a month full of state meetings for the three clubs she is in. She enjoyed going to Key Club, FCCLA, and HOSA state conventions. She is an officer on the local

level in all three clubs, and also was elected State Vice President for HOSA (Future Health Professionals). So she will be busy in the com-ing year, but is excited. She is also finishing up her CNA course at school, and will be taking her certification test at the end of the month. She is looking for a job, which will be tricky with her busy summer.

Sierra continues to work on driving in the midst of having a job and senior year preparations. She is excited for graduation and prom. I have heard great things from her fellow workers as well as several folks from the community about how helpful and nice she is in the deli department at the lo-cal grocery store where she works. She is very respon-sible about making sure she is on time, and ready for the day. She is planning on transitioning to her grand-ma’s house in June to enter the workforce for a bit and decide where life is going to go from there. I have no worries that she will do well. She has a great faith, a good head on her shoulders, and is a hard worker.

A few prayer requests:

Pray for Sierra as she transitions in June and fin-ishes up school. Pray that all would go smoothly and that she would feel secure through the process.

– Continued on page 7 –

A MOMENT WITH MATTHEW

Our Priority is to make sure that the Children we bring to Shiloh are safe and well cared forWe never have to turn away a kid because their family cannot afford care

It has been very busy around here lately.

Since the beginning of the year, we have received a significant increase in calls regarding children who need a safe and sta-ble home. We have had seven new children arrive at Shiloh since Christ-mas and have quite a few more that we are current-

ly considering for placement. With the arrival of our new Homeparent couple, Randall and Mindy Sidwell, our ministry is able to serve more children and their home is beginning to fill up already.

Our priority is to make sure that the children we

bring to Shiloh are safe and well cared for. We have been blessed with tremendous Homeparents, so I nev-er worry about the “well cared for” part. However, I do put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that all the kids we have at Shiloh are safe. Although we would love to help every child who is in need, we must first make sure that those children who are already here, and those who will be coming in the future, will be safe. We must screen each child thoroughly and make sure they will not pose a threat to others. This process takes time, but it is truly worth the effort. By the time we complete our screening process, we have spoken to and collected records from the child, parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, churches, medical staff, case workers, and any other individual or orga-nization that has worked with the child. We strive to develop a complete picture of each child’s strengths and challenges in order to determine if they would be an appropriate fit at Shiloh. We look at which ranch site and specific home they would fit into best – con-sidering things such as the Homeparents’ strengths and styles, the dynamics of the children already in the home, and the child’s educational needs. All aspects of the situation are considered thoroughly.

One of the major advantages Shiloh Christian Chil-dren’s Ranch has over other care providers is that we have been blessed by a wonderful network of donors, who allow us to care for these children in the best ways possible. We never have to turn away a child because their family cannot afford care. Likewise, we are able to look at a situation and determine what makes sense in that particular situation, being able to be flexible when the situation calls for it. Unlike other programs where funding is tied to how many “beds are filled”, we are never tempted to accept a child that we cannot ad-equately care for in order to receive the payment. The way Shiloh is set up, it is the children’s best interests that drive our decisions. Thank you all for your sup-port and providing a safe place for God’s children! n

Grace and peace to you,Matthew Harris

Matthew Harris

Pray for Mercy as she finds balance in a life that is getting increasingly busy and for a job that works with her busy life.

Pray for safety and growth in the younger crew as they begin baseball and are out and more active.

Please be in prayer for a few of our younger crew who have been asking questions about bap-tism. They have amazing faith and Bible knowl-edge. It is exciting seeing them coming to that place in their faith.

Pray for all our kids as summer begins. Change is hard on all kids, but our kids tend to be extra sensitive to big life changes. With kids graduating, some leaving, and some new ones coming, that can cause some of kids to take a step back behaviorally. Pray God gives us wisdom in how to support and be there for them during those transition periods. n

Blessings, The Moores

Moore’s Musings • Continued from page 6

Shiloh Snapshots

At Shiloh we believe every life matters. Denice took the kids to the Missouri Capitol to support the Right to Life.

Dennae Moore house mom reads a bed time story at the end of the night to cap off a great day.

Dennae pulls Josiah on their Donkey as Heaven rides alongside.

Loveysha, Courtney, Kiersten, and Ashley created “I Am” boards in Bible class at Shiloh Christian School as a reminder of all the qualities that God gave them.

Randall Sidwell, house dad in Kahoka, shows them how it’s done.

Mindy Sidwell teaches the girls a Bible lesson.

Cutting wood with a work group, Taylor and Sierra pose for a picture during a cold winter day.

Trenton displays the string art he made with Crosses.

Josiah takes on the duty of rabbit tamer. Great job, Josiah!

Taylor, Jeremiah, Makena, and Ashley donate their time in helping others at Food Bank.

As Spring approaches, Mrs. Colvin teaches our Kahoka site about the life of a plant.

Smiling faces spending time together, sometimes you just need to be a kid.

Kahoka kids enjoy a day at Ha Ha Tonka State Park.

Friendships are made on days like this. Makena, Moriah, Taylor, and Mekenna enjoy a fun outing next to the river.

Madison, Loveysha, and Lillian show off their Easter dresses before church.

Mercy was awarded for Outstanding Officer in FCCLA.

Achievements

Mason gives it his all while throwing the shot in track.

Brittney placed 2nd in the 200 and 400 meter Dash.

Sierra receives a certificate for Star Events. STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills, and career preparation.

Titus receives high marks and has been accepted into Ozark Christian College’s Highest Praise this summer 2016.

MARK MY WORDS

The Shiloh staff and homeparents make a concerted effort to change mindsets from hopelessness to those of empowermentThere are many instances of our past Shiloh children calling our homeparents and recounting the encouragement and time that the homeparents invested into them

Mark Adkison

I don’t care who you are, daily life can be a

burden. Work issues can drag you down. Relation-ships get strained. Cir-cumstances seem to pile up and overcome even the most optimistic individ-ual. There are the times when there seems to be no good answer for the cur-rent state of being. Hope seems to be absent. We all

know how hard it is as adults to deal with life. How does a young person deal with it? It is re-

ally difficult to get to know the story of a newly placed Shiloh child and hear the deep uselessness or unwor-thiness that they can sometimes feel. The circum-stances that they have had to endure or try to climb out of the consequences they are dealing with because of poor choices or behaviors could make any of us have doubts of our value or if anyone really cares. It was shared to me recently that one of our young people stated that they felt that they did not deserve to be at Shiloh because of their past. How can the state of these children be changed? Where does healing begin?

Encouragement. The Shiloh staff and homepar-ents make a concerted effort to change mindsets from hopelessness to those of empowerment. Encourage-ment can be the difference maker between a dark and dangerous path to one of light and promise of a new direction.

Author John Maxwell shares five things that are good to know when moving toward becoming an en-courager.

1. Everybody wants to be somebody. Treat people like a “10”, and they respond as a “10”.2. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. First and foremost,

people want to know if we really care about them.3. Everybody needs somebody. People look for someone to invest in them and to encourage them to be the person that God created them to be. 4. Anybody who helps somebody influences a lot of somebodies. Influence influences and encouragement gets multiplied. An encouraged person encourages someone else.5. God loves everybody. Treat others the way that Jesus would treat them and others will always feel encouraged.It is so affirming to watch a child’s transforma-

tion as our Shiloh ministry family uses time and the above encouragement points to change a downhearted young person to one of value with Godly worth.

Inspirational writer William Arthur Ward shares, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not for-give you. Encourage me, and I will never forget you.”

There are many instances of our past Shiloh chil-dren calling our homeparents and recounting the en-couragement and time that the homeparents invested into them and the impact that it had on their lives. Please pray and support our Shiloh ministry family so we can continue to make lasting differences in our Shi-loh children. n

In Christ’s love,Mark

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KOLARS’ KOMMENTS

Little Julianna is learning to talk, little by littleSo far she says, “sippy, paci, momma, dada, Titus, cat, cow, puppy, and book”

For as the Lord brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. –Isaiah 61:11

It is spring time here on the ranch. It does some-thing to your heart when you see the first sprouts

of the tulips poking up through last year’s mulch and seeing the blooms on all the flowering trees. Todd is outside tilling the garden as I type in order that we can get our cooler weather crops in the ground. We are also raising 5 Bantam chicks in the garage. Noth-ing says spring like tilling and chicks.

It has been a very busy winter, and spring doesn’t look to be any less. It’s baseball season and Ti-tus is playing both JV and varsity for South Shelby High School. So far he’s played 3rd base, left field, right field, and pitched as a freshman. His only frus-tration is at the plate—just can’t seem to put the bat on the ball as well as he’d like—the season is early though. He loves baseball, just like his Dad. Titus continues to play trombone too. Band competitions and solo work will take some of our Saturdays. On Sundays you might see him on stage with the worship band play-

ing guitar or trombone. We are proud to announce his recent invitation to join Highest Praise through Ozark Christian College this June. For three weeks he will be touring around the Midwest with other teens who share his love of music and the Lord.

Our Intern Ashley lived with us for the couple months while she was here at Shiloh. She was such a joy and blessing to our family. MaKenna and Moriah adored her and she quickly became like a big sister to

them. She took them for a sleep over at the cabin and actually got them to go running a few times. Her time here was short but she made a big impact, not only on our girls, but on all of our kiddos.

Asher just finished up basketball this month. His team had more loses than wins, but that’s no big deal;

it was a great experience for him. Currently he is neck and neck for the top read-ing spot in his school. Not bad for a kid who wouldn’t pick up a book just over year ago. Now he devours books. He continues to “bless” us with his love of drumming. He manages to get some practice time in every day. He and Titus Moore hang out a lot.

There is never a dull moment with the little ones around. Julianna is learn-ing to talk little by little. So far she says, sippy, paci, momma, dadda, Titus, cat, cow, puppy, and book…. I think she would be talking a lot more if her brothers would let her get a word in edgewise. Devin is still loving preschool, riding his bike, and playing with his best friend Ezra. And Larry…..oh, Larry…. I can sum Larry up with just one story. The other day he wanted to dress himself. I gave him his clothes and went to switch laundry. When I came back, Larry was walking out of the bathroom stark naked, wearing his under-wear like a shirt. With the biggest, proudest smile on his face he says, “I’M BATMAN!”

Coming up here at Shiloh for the spring we have graduations, prom, work groups, gardens, mowing, calving, and much more. It would be more challeng-ing to not be busy. Please continue to pray for all our kiddos, and thank you so much for all your support. n

The Kolars

Misty & Todd Kolar

She was such a joy and blessingto our family.

SIDWELLL SALUTATIONS

“Compassion is her gift, and she’s always watching out for others”“We allow our kids to have a voice, to share their feelings, and to deal with emotions in a healthy way. We encourage them to plan...but to live in the moment.”

We consider ourselves exceed-ingly blessed to be included

in the Shiloh Community. As the weather warms and seasons change, we are in the process of starting many new experiences. Garden plants are started in the green-house, garden beds are awaiting new seedlings and our household is growing with beautiful young ladies who are beginning a new portion of their lives. Our prayer is that they will become like a “well-watered garden” full of His love, truth, and grace.

Our first daughter with Shi-loh is Loveysha, a 14-year-old who

takes great joy in sharing with oth-ers, playing basketball and fishing. She makes an excellent “older” sis-ter being just and fair in her choic-es. Compassion is her gift and she’s always watching out for others. She enjoys her school work, country music and getting into the routine set before her.

Fifteen-year-old Lili joined the family next. Being a bundle of ener-gy, she’s always on the go and ready to play softball. She is quick to find good in younger kiddos and en-courages everyone to do their best. This may have something to do with her vast knowledge of Superheroes.

Her words of encouragement and positive reinforcement are a couple of her special talents.

Daughter #3 recently came to us as 14-year-old Maddie. She hit it off immediately with the other girls being connected by their love of music and singing. Her giftedness at the piano fills our home with music and joy. Maddie enjoys any new adventure and fits in anywhere

she goes. Her quick wit keeps us on our toes, but the sparkle in her eye gives her away.

In just a few days, MacKenzie, age 11, joins the Sidwell Home, rounding out our grand total of Shi-loh daughters to 4. Our other three look forward to being older sisters.

We allow our kiddos to have a voice to share their feelings, and deal with emotions in a healthy way. We encourage them to plan for the future, but live in the moment. We inspire them to search for positive experiences and turn negative ones into lifelong lessons.

Our household theme at this point is growth. At school, they grow in truth. At home, they grow in communication and listening skills, experiencing new things and growing in Christ. Growing in His love, mercy and grace, striving to recognize the difference between each of three. We pray that our Fa-ther in Heaven, the great gardener, conditions us to grow in Him. n

Under His Grace,Randall & Mindy Sidwell

Randall & Mindy Sidwell

She hit it off immediately with the other girls being connected by their love of

music and singing.

Our household theme at this point is growth.

BETHEL BUNCH

When we get in those controversial topics, we teach and plant seeds of God’s word and His desires for our livesIt is powerful when our kids are standing for God’s word and actually speaking God’s truth in the world

Dear Friends,Spring has sprung! Let the season begin with

all the activities that it holds. We were recently blessed by our first work group of the year. We had lots of fel-lowship time and got some projects done, including lots of firewood. Our time even included some snow flurries. It was good to catch up with an old friend and to meet many new ones. Track season has begun for some of our kids, which includes all those practices and various meets. FFA contest teams have kept one of the boys busy. We have done some welding projects with the kids. A creative project, that we did with the majority of the kids, was some string art. We made crosses. Each kiddo got to make two crosses. One for them as a keepsake and the other to give to someone for Easter. The weather has allowed for us to already have the horses out for a few times, which we know that most of the kids love time around the horses.

Justin had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas for Restoration week from Lincoln Christian College. We

were pleased that he chose something that was out of his comfort zone to experience. Besides doing service projects, it was a learning experience on how to minis-ter in that environment and to do some evangelizing. He as well had the privilege to be a speaker for our chapel service at the Shiloh school. Preaching in class was his first opportunity to do so.

In today’s world there are many things that are part of everyday culture but these “norms” that are in the world are different than God’s standards. When we get in those controversial topics, we teach and plant

seeds of God’s word and His desires for our lives. The teaching never stops; it is needed even in our “adult” lives. Many times these teachings are met with much resistance because that is not the path that our kids have traveled thus far in their life. On the opposite side of that, it is powerful when our kids are standing for God’s word and actually speaking God’s truth in the world. We ask that you would pray specifically for the hearts of our kids, to hear the truth in God’s word, and desire to turn from the path that they are familiar with and follow God’s desire for their lives.

We are so abundantly blessed by God. You are part of those blessings which are from the Lord. How ever you support us and this ministry, we thank you. Without a doubt, we could not do what we do here if it wasn’t for you. We ask God to bless you! n

In Christ’s love,The Bethel Bunch

Joy & Jon Bethel

In today’s world there are many things that are part of everyday

culture but these “norms” that are in the world are different than God’s

standards.

TULEY’S HOME

Hunter is the cutest red headed boyHe is going to be a strong one

It is hard to believe we have been here over 11 years

already. Our role here at Shiloh is changing. Where we were kind of an unsaid Aunt/Uncle, role we are now more in the Grandma and Papa role especially with the younger ones in the Moore’s and Kolars’ kiddos. It is a little confusing with the older ones calling us Mr. and Mrs. Tuley while the younger ones call us Grandma and Papa. We do know that the warmth of hearing Grandma and Papa sure melts your heart.

Heaven is the oldest of the younger ones and she is not sure whether we are grandparents or Mr. & Mrs. Tuley but we love her all the same and so proud of her school work and beautiful hand writing and she loves to please. Gracie has a smile that quickly melts the heart but watch out, she is a live wire and always at the

center of attention. Hunter is the cutest red headed boy with a huge, handsome smile. He is ALL BOY! He still tries the fences even though he knows they don’t move. He is going to be a strong one.

Ezra only calls us Papa & Grandma when he is “On-Time-Off” or when our Bio grandkids are here. He loves his gymnastics. Devin is very, very active and loves the outdoors. He likes to wrestle on the floor with grandpa. Right now he is little enough but Papa

Karen & Robert Tuley

is still a little protective of the chest area so we have to keep an eye on him. Larry is just the opposite. He doesn’t like to wrestle or play with toys but would rather follow you around all day asking the same questions; however, none can do that as cute as he does it.

Julianna is just plain cute! She smiles, laughs, and is walking and climbing everywhere. She likes to throw her fits every now and then, but Papa showed her he can throw bigger ones. She did not know what to think of that at first.

When we do have all our grandkids here with our Shiloh grandkids around it is busy. Suzie has three more

puppies and it is a blast (not so much for the puppies) to watch all of them play with them. Suzie will be weaning them soon before they go to their new homes.

Thank you for praying, supporting, and blessing us over the last 11 years. In Christ, we humbly thank you. n

The Tuley’s

In today’s world there are many things that are part of everyday

culture but these “norms” that are in the world are different than God’s

standards.

Our Homeparents

Cherish Your Daily Prayers!

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